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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27111643">Rosemary</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astral_Embers/pseuds/Astral_Embers'>Astral_Embers</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Septimus Heap - Angie Sage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Gen, Life of the keeper</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:55:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,785</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27111643</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astral_Embers/pseuds/Astral_Embers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Marwick lived a peaceful life in keepers cottage, but when Septimus and Jenna find an old book in the pyramid library co-written by an old Keeper and ExtraOrdinary Wizard what will happen to the quiet life he knew?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mandy Marwick/OC</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Rosemary</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h1>Rosemary</h1>
<p> </p>
<h3>Chapter 1: The Keeper</h3>
<p>Marwick had been living in Keepers cottage for some years now. According to Septimus he was 38 winters old as of last full moon. But Marwick never really held much stock in age or dates. The passage of time didn’t bother him as much as it did the inhabitants of the Castle who were all rushing to and fro. Most days he was content to take his pole to the bottomless pool in the Marram marshes and sit for days talking to the trees. Things moved too fast for Marwick, people especially, but lately even the animals that came by the cottage seemed to be hurrying around as if they were running out of time. He didn’t understand it. Ever since he had fallen into the river as a young army boy he had felt more of a connection with the forest than the other people he had seen. Keepers cottage had completely transformed itself since Zelda left with her brother so many seasons ago. What was once a haphazard cottage that had survived wave after wave of brownie infestation was now completely revitalised. Marwick had repaired the herb gardens, and built houses to grow plants that were difficult to get in the castle. He called the Green Houses due too the colour of the moss that lined the outside walls. He remembered the day Septimus appeared on his doorstep and Queen Jenna burst through the Queens way, both within a matter of moments of one another and his peaceful island morning was shattered.</p>
<p>Septimus’ visits were a gift. Marwick enjoyed the company of his old young army friend, and the two men spent many a night sat on opposite ends of the sitting room with a warm drink and a book on some matter Magykal or in Marwick’s case, herbal. Since Zelda had taken him in Marwick had found an enjoyment in the growing of plants and mixing of different potions. This visit however was something different altogether. Septimus and Queen were excited about something, the Queen was talking fast with a smile in her face so Marwick assumed it was good news. What that news was though he had no idea. Septimus smiled slowly. He was more aware of his friends interactions with the outside world than Jenna was. Opening his transporting cloak he revealed an old leather and wood bound book that had all manner of vines and knots decorating the front. Marwick’s face broadened in comprehension and asked “Septimus, where did you find it?”</p>
<p>Septimus grinned in return. “In the pyramid library, it was propping up a bookshelf in the forbidden area. I don’t think Marcia even knew it was there. She gets so cranky these days so I try not to concern her with too much.” Marwick stood to the side letting Septimus across the threshold so the trio could gather in the kitchen. When they were all settled around the kitchen table Marwick commanded the table to clear the papers so Septimus could lay the book down. From within his purple ExtraOrdinary cloak he retrieved a small strip of varnished bark that Marwick recognised as a charm. As he rested the charm on the book he began to whisper the incantation, quietly at first, but then louder, and louder. Jenna and Marwick stepped back as the waves of purple magykal energy began to pulse off of him. They were unsure what he was doing exactly, but knew it was powerful magyk.<br/><br/><em>“Reach and Grow,<br/>Bloom and Rise,<br/>Connect the Earth<br/>To the Skies”</em></p>
<p>As he repeated the incantation Marwick noted that the charm he placed on the book began to sprout small buds, and shoots that grew leaves and intertwined around each other. Faster now. The shoots grew and bark hardened the new shoots meeting the bark of the book and then becoming one. And almost as soon as it had started, it stopped. The waves of magyk stopped, and the book lay there now one piece, charm and cover joined and the old bark cover now coming into a blossom.</p>
<p>“Oh Sep its so pretty!” Jenna gasped “Does that mean that it’s ready now?” she asked, approaching the book once more.</p>
<p>“It’s good to go Jen,” Septimus replied. Despite her being the Queen, Jenna refused to let her nearest and dearest call her by anything other than her name in private (with the only exception being Lucy Heap on days Jenna was feeling particularly spiteful). “Only don’t touch it yet. This is a living book I think. I’ve read a bit about them. They imprint on the first person that touches them after activation.” Jenna and Septimus turned to look at Marwick who was staring at the delicate blossoms of the book. It looked so inviting.</p>
<p>Marwick hesitantly stepped forwards, reaching forth a hand like he would with an injured wolverine to show he was not a threat. His fingers uncurled and gently came down on the cover of the book. He was aware of Jenna and Septimus stood either side of him holding their breath. As his fingertips touched the cover of the book the blossoms took to the air, detaching themselves from the book and swirling around him. As the delicate pink blossoms vanished a voice as soft as the summer streams called to him and he was filled with an indescribable calmness.</p>
<p>“Marwick… Marwick! Hello, is anyone home?” Jenna was tapping his hand somewhat impatiently. “You’ve been stood there for 5 minutes now.” She said, responding to the confusion that was clear on his face.</p>
<p>“D…did neither of you see that?” he stammered, looking from Jenna to Septimus and back again. “The blossoms and that voice..” his words trailed off as he thought of the soft words in the blossom. Septimus’ hand brought him back to reality again as his friend rested a hand on his shoulder.</p>
<p>“Marwick, neither of us heard anything. Did we Jen?” Jenna shook her head in agreement. “You touched the book and there was a rush of magykal energy and then it transformed.” His friend had a concern in his voice and in his face. Marwick supposed hearing voices probably wasn’t a normal occurrence, and decided to drop the matter for now. Where an old wooden bound book was once sat on the desk now lay a vibrant green and gold cover with beautiful decoration of vines that seemed to move under the midmorning light. Inside the book was an even greater treasure. It looked to be a collaborative diary between a Keeper and ExtraOrdinary from the early days of the wizard tower. The old, timeworn pages contained a trove of secrets that detailed the cultivation and growth of plants both magykal and mundane. The Green Houses were just one genius creation this book held. There were also irrigating tubes, alchemical formulae for the best light to encourage the best growth, uses of dragon blood to keep specimens at the best temperature (a subject that no one, especially Septimus, wanted to entertain) and even magykal means to increase yields and cure sickness. It didn’t take long for Jenna to suggest that they try and build some of these in the gardens of Keepers cottage.</p>
<p>Coming out of his daydream, Marwick greeted the damp morning marsh air with a smile, and with a mug of tea in one hand and chilled fish in the other, he meandered down to the water edge where the Boggart slept.</p>
<p>“G’morning Boggart,” he whispered, “I’ve your dinner here. Are the Bogglins around?” Marwick looked around the mud for the tell-tale tufty ears that baby Boggarts had. Boggart had found the baby Bogglins abandoned on the shores by the bottomless pool. Having long believed himself to be the last of his kind after the Boggart hunts, the Boggart took to fatherhood like a duck with a very nervous disposition took to water. That was to say, naturally, but reluctantly. Boggart was getting older now, his kind lived for around 50 years and he was finding it difficult to go out hunting each night. Marwick knew this, and Boggart knew this, but his pride wouldn’t let him admit it. That was why, once a day, Marwick left a number of marsh fish by the Boggart pool as a gift for the Bogglins.</p>
<p>Marwick’s next stop was the herb gardens which under a careful eye from him and occasionally Septimus were growing well. The irrigation worked well. Back when he had first inherited the cottage from Zelda, Septimus had brought him a gift from his Alchemie friend Marcellus. The little pouches Marcellus gifted him gave off a pungent smell not too dissimilar to the infamous Boggart breath. A wretched stench that was one of the only things proven to drive off the devilish Marsh Brownies that caused so much of a ruckus in Zelda’s time. Thanks to Marcellus the brownies hadn’t invaded Keepers Cottage in years. Marwick picked his way through the garden, snipping bits of herbs seemingly at random, but to a trained eye each cut was made with precision and certainty. By the time he had reached the other side, his herb pouch was bulging at his waist, but the garden showed no sign he had passed by.</p>
<p>Finally the end of his morning walk was before him. The Green Houses were wooden shacks about 8 feet high that had been coated in a special concoction Marwick had brewed and planted different types of moss upon. According to the book, the moss helped keep the temperature inside high all year around and let Marwick grow all manner of plants for his potions. He stopped before the door and ran his hands over the mossy exterior of the hut, savouring for a moment the texture and deciduous smell of the cultures of moss that he had been cultivating. The smell of petrichor clung to the dew of the morning on the walls in the cool morning and Marwick felt a calm wash over him. “Sometimes,” he thought to himself, smiling “a moment can be so much more than a moment.”</p>
<p>The inside of the hut was warm and Marwick felt the sweat on his brow begin to form immediately as he stepped from the cool morning air into the dark and humid Green House. The inner walls were covered in vines and colourful flowers brightened the space. Marwick checked the plants with a gentle hand, cutting back bits to help growth and testing the soil. No plant escaped his careful eye. Eventually he returned back to the cottage, his morning chores finished he was free to delve once more into the book that was a gift from his good friend Septimus.</p>
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